Bed and breakfast Zonnedauw in Zwartemeer has a very special guest. Recently a young stork has been strolling through the garden. The young has been rejected by its father and mother.
B&B owners Gert (59) and Suzanne (58) Hoogland therefore decided to raise the animal. “We have a stork’s nest in the back of the garden. This is now the third year that storks have been in it, and every year a stork is thrown out of its nest.”
“We thought: that will not happen to us this year. So we have put a net under the stork’s nest. If he is thrown out, we will catch him.”
And indeed: it was precisely on Mother’s Day that Max was cast out of his nest. “He was very small then: 465 grams.” Gert and Suzanne first contacted a stork shelter near de Wijk. “They told us that they didn’t have enough volunteers to catch the stork. And if we didn’t want to do it ourselves.”
The couple came to the conclusion that they did not want to leave the animal to its fate. They caught him in a box, gave him earthworms, and later day-old chicks. And Suzanne her husband and sons built a special nest. ‘The box’, they jokingly call it.
“He loves it,” says Suzanne. “And last week it flew out for the first time. So now it flies nicely in circles. He is free. And his brothers and sisters also enjoy walking in the garden.”
Max owes his name to Max Verstappen. He is now growing faster than his brothers and sisters. How does he behave towards the rest? “Well, he feels a bit the strong one. And you notice that from the others, they will step aside for him. And the cats also respect him.”
Suzanne and her husband Gert already have a special bond with Max. “Yes, he really recognizes you. By your voice. Because if there are strange people, he doesn’t just go there. And when I call him, he comes directly to me. That is very special.”
They both hope that Max will soon fly out and be able to fend for himself. “We assume that is possible. But the future must show that. And he will stay here for the same money. You can also see that in the Wijk, at the shelter, that storks hibernate there. But we really hope that he will soon flies out.”